Co-Living Renovation in Clitheroe

Six en-suite rooms, one shared house, built from a derelict building

27-29 Bawdlands sits at the edge of Clitheroe town centre, about 100 metres from the railway station. The brief was simple and unusually strict: six private rooms, six private bathrooms, and shared spaces good enough that people actually want to use them.

Most house shares are a family home with the dining room turned into a bedroom. This is not that. The building was taken back to its shell and laid out from scratch around how six adults actually live: sleep, work, cook, wash, store a bike, and be left alone when they want to be.

What the finished house contains

Six rooms, six en-suites

Rooms from 14.5 to 22.4 sq m, across the first and second floors
Every room has its own private en-suite shower room. No bathroom is shared by anyone
North, south and east aspects, so there is a room for people who want morning light and a room for people who do not
Each room fully furnished: double storage bed, wardrobe, several sets of drawers, desk and chair

The shared spaces

A chef’s cafe kitchen with double ovens, double hobs, two fridges and two freezers, so six people are never queuing
An eight-seater dining table and a 40-inch smart TV
A separate media room and a quiet study space, so watching and working do not compete
Laundry room with a double washing machine and a dryer
Secure on-site cycle storage

The parts nobody photographs

Business-grade mesh Wi-Fi throughout, with hardwired Cat5 points and USB sockets in every room
Smart heating and app-controlled amenities
Master key system: one key opens your room and the building, and nothing else
Security cameras at the external doors and the cycle store, and security handles on every window

The design is the point, not the finish

Sara Byrne, co-founder of Boutique Homes, is an interior designer. The Bawdlands was designed, not converted, and that is the hardest thing about it for anyone else to copy.

Anybody can buy a big house and put locks on the bedroom doors. What is difficult is making six strangers want to spend time in the same kitchen. That comes down to decisions most landlords never make: where the light falls, how far the sofa sits from the hob, whether there is somewhere to work that is not your bed, and whether the place looks like somewhere you would be happy to bring a friend back to.

Three decisions that shaped the whole build

Private bathrooms, no exceptions

It costs far more per room and it is the single biggest reason people choose here over a cheaper house share. Sharing a bathroom with five people is the thing renters complain about most, so we designed it out rather than managing it.

A kitchen built for six, not for one

Double ovens, double hobs, two fridges and two freezers, with a private shelf and cupboard for every resident. Most shared-house friction starts in the kitchen. Doubling the capacity removes the argument before it happens.

Somewhere quiet and somewhere social

A separate study space and a separate media room means one person working late does not have to negotiate with someone watching television. In a six-person house that is the difference between a home and a hostel.

Licensed, compliant and let

Licensed HMO

The Bawdlands is licensed as a House in Multiple Occupation by Ribble Valley Borough Council, renewed every five years. Ribble Valley’s planning permission caps the property at eight residents; we let six rooms to six individuals, one person per room.

Accredited and protected

Boutique Homes Ltd is a member of the National Residential Landlords Association. Deposits are protected with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and residents receive the prescribed information within 30 days.

Open and occupied

The house opened in September 2025 and has been let since. Residents are working professionals ranging in age from 22 to 60 and over, and everyone is referenced and screened before they move in.

What it costs to live here

Rooms are £670 to £750 a month. One payment covers rent, council tax, gas, electricity, water, superfast broadband and weekly cleaning of the communal areas. To move in it is one month’s rent and a £400 deposit, with no admin, referencing or renewal fees. Tenancies run monthly with no fixed term.

See the rooms and current availability Book a viewing

27-29 Bawdlands, Clitheroe BB7 2LA. A few minutes’ walk from Castle Street and the market, about 100 metres from Clitheroe railway station, with a bus stop directly across the road.